Reviews by Ian Cameron McLaren

On 6/6 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
In his latest book, Scot McKnight - a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary - tackles the question ‘what is the church supposed to be?’ based on his personal experience and his vast knowledge of the life and letters of Paul.McKnight divides the book into seven sections, presenting the case ... Book review: A Fellowship of Differents by Scot McKnight

On 4/15 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
So church is, essentially, a gathering of kingdom citizens, called out - from their individuality, from their sins, from their old ways of doing things, from the world’s way of doing things - into participation in this new kingdom and community with one another.
This is a conclusion reached by Rachel ... Book review: Searching For Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

On 1/31 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
About 12 years ago, a book about seeking God and finding faith in a postmodern world tore like wildfire through our college campus. That book, of course, was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, then of Portland, Oregon (whose new book we will review next). Now, Tony Kriz, also of Portland, comes along ... Book review: Aloof by Tony Kriz

On 12/15 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
In Philip Yancey’s latest offering, he tackles the question, “Why does the church stir up such negative feelings?”
At a time where the world’s brokenness is on display at every turn while favorable opinions of Christians are basically non-existent, it’s a question that those ... Book review: Vanishing Grace - Philip Yancey

On 11/1 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Tables in the Wilderness is Preston Yancey’s account of his time at Baylor University in Waco, TX. He arrived as a relatively cocksure Southern Baptist, and gradually began to experience a sense loss in the midst of failed relationships and abandoned projects and ideologies.
Yancey says he heard ... Book review: Tables in the Wilderness by Preston Yancey

On 9/30 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Author / speaker Michael Yankoski experienced a bit of an existential crisis after attending a flashy Christian conference a while back, and was prompted to go on a retreat to a monastery in order to get the sour taste out of his mouth.
There, he met with a monk named Father Solomon, who encouraged him ... Book Review: The Sacred Year by Michael Yankoski

On 9/18 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Yawning At Tigers by Drew Dyck is a book that seeks to recover a view of the “untamed God of scripture,” one who is both mysterious and present, dangerous yet accessible.
Dyck argues that modern Christianity has tamed God in such a way we are unmoved by Him, and attempts to push the reader ... Book Review: Yawning at Tigers by Drew Dyck

On 2/10 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Futureville is the latest book by pastor / author / speaker Skye Jethani, the follow-up to With (which has become one of my favourites and which I reviewed here). The tagline for this one is “discover your purpose for today by re-imagining tomorrow”, and the central idea is that what we believe about ... book review: ‘Futureville’ by Skye Jethani

On 1/13 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Philip Yancey’s first book was titled Where Is God When It Hurts? He revisits that theme in this short book after traveling to Newtown, Connecticut after the horrific events that transpired there in Dec. of 2012, and after other tragedies such as the Boston Marathon bombings, a fertilizer plant ... The Question That Never Goes Away by Philip Yancey

On 8/21 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Homeless at Harvard is a memoir based on a specific time in the author’s life, when he decided to spend a summer, well, homeless at Harvard. He wasn’t REALLY homeless, of course. He was a student, with a loving family (albeit out of state), and he had money and resources at his disposal. ... Homeless at Harvard by John Christopher Frame

On 7/18 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Fight (by the author who also write The Christian Atheist and Weird) is a book geared primarily for men, on the topic of "winning the battles that matter most." The basic premise is that men have been created to be warriors, born to fight for what is good and right and noble in the world (using force, ... Fight by Craig Groeschel

On 5/20 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
In Seven Men, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas presents seven exquisitely crafted short portraits of widely known—but not well understood—Christian men, each of whom uniquely showcases a commitment to live by certain virtues in the truth of the gospel.
In this book, Eric Metaxas look ... 7 Men by Eric Metaxas

On 3/14 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
When Donkeys Talk: A Quest To Rediscover The Mystery and Wonder of Christianity (Zondervan) is a new book by Tyler Blanski, a writer and musician hailing from Minneapolis, MN. In it, he relies heavily on the story of Balaam’s donkey to challenge the reader to view the world as one where God has, ... When Donkeys Talk by Tyler Blanski

On 10/30 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Jesus: A Theography is the new collaboration between Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola, co-authors of Jesus Manifesto.
The central thesis of this book is that “the life of Jesus was the Hebrew story déjà vu”; in other words, rather than focusing on the four gospels or even the New Testament ... Jesus: A Theography by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola

On 4/18 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires and the Lies You’re Believing is the second book written by Pete Wilson, the founding and senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. (His first book was called Plan B, which I reviewed back in 2010). The basic idea of Empty Promises (and ... empty promises by pete wilson

On 1/25 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
I Am a Follower is the latest title from Len Sweet wherein he “explains how Christians in a twenty-first-century corporate-obsessed culture have shifted away from a Jesus art of following towards a popularized form of leading.” As Sweet points out in the opening pages, “the only Christian books ... I Am a Follower by Len Sweet

On 9/13 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Instead of life over, under, from, or even for God, what leads us into freedom and restoration is life with God.
Right off the top, I have to say that With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani is easily one of the better books I’ve had the opportunity to review through BookSneeze.
It’s ... with by skye jethani

On 6/27 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
At the beginning of the New Year, I had the opportunity to review a book called Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron. It was a book that I very much enjoyed, one that inspired me to look a bit deeper into the life of St. Francis at some point down the road, but not one that I would say truly moved me.
In ... 'Jesus, my father, the CIA and me' by Ian Cron

On 5/6 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
It seems as though everybody wants to write a book these days, and if you’ve ever wondered exactly how some of the titles on the shelves of your local bookstore (particularly in Christian ones) ever got published, it might not be a stretch to assume that it was done with the help of Michael Larsen’s ... How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen

On 4/17 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
When I first signed up for this title on BookSneeze, I assumed I would be receiving a new book from Erwin McManus, an author whose books I had previously enjoyed but whose most recent titles I had not kept up with. Little did I know that Unleashed is but a re-release of an older book called The Barbarian ... unleashed

On 10/31 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
The Gospel According to Jesus is a new book by Chris Seay, the pastor of Ecclesia Church in Houston, TX. Seay’s basic argument is that many Christians fundamentally misunderstand the heart of Jesus’ Gospel message, as evidenced in the popular yet poor translation / interpretation of the call to righteousness. ... Gospel According to Jesus - edefining righteousness

On 9/10 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Allow me to begin this review with two confessions: a) I’m not a huge fan of Max Lucado’s books [admittedly having read maybe only one or two in the past], based partly on the fact that this one in particluar is endorsed by the likes of Kathie Lee Gifford [enough said], and b) I am generally skeptical ... outlive your life by max lucado

On 7/10 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
As I begin this review, I feel the need to be completely honest and state up front that I mostly skimmed this book. I do take the task of reading and reviewing books seriously, but I just could not find the motivation to work my way through each of this volume's 329 pages. While I have a great deal of ... beyond opinion

On 5/31 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Jesus Manifesto is a new book co-authored by Frank Viola and Len Sweet that seeks to restore the supremacy of sovereignty of Jesus Christ so that the Church might “forge a secure path into the future.” As with many books written for the Church in the early 21st century, the authors begin by outlining ... Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola

On 5/18 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Still as great as it was the first two times I read it, I can’t help but wonder why this book has been re-released after only six years in print. I feel as this book might have benefited from a true update, an attempt to engage the reader in the ‘so what?’ question of Miller's central message of ... searching for God knows what by donald miller

On 5/3 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
When BookSneeze released 500 review copies of Plan B by Nashville-based pastor Pete Wilson, the response was so overwhelming that the website actually crashed. I happened to be off that day so I was able to come back to the computer a couple hours later and request the book, but the mad rush left me ... plan b by pete wilson

On 4/17 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
A couple of years ago, an old professor of mine introduced me to the idea of ‘theological heroes’, and, over time, I have come to realize that there if I were to sit down and write out a list of my own, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would have to be at the top.
So when BookSneeze presented ... bonhoeffer by eric metaxas

On 2/8 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
Tithing: Test Me In This is the latest title in the Ancient Practices Series (Phyllis Tickle, ed.). Lauren and I have quite enjoyed the other books in this series, and have been challenged to incorporate the ancient practices into our modern lives. This book, however, doesn’t come close to reaching the level of the previous ... tithing by douglas leblanc

On 1/22 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
The Voice – a product of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Ecclesia Bible Society – is a new scriptural translation project as put together by Pastor Chris Seay who, over the past 15 years or so, has sought to capture and celebrate the Bible as narrative; rather than looking at the Bible as a collection of ... Hear The Voice

On 12/31 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
On October 2nd, 2004, the world was introduced to 47 survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Through the course of five unbelievable seasons, LOST has developed an incredibly faithful following of viewers who, each week, tune in to see the collective and individual stories of these castaways – and the island that they landed on – ... the gospel according to LOST by chris seay

On 11/21 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
The Liturgical Year is the latest in the excellent ‘Ancient Practices Series’ edited by Phyllis Tickle. Writing from a very Catholic perspective, Joan Chittister outlines this rich yet often overlooked Christian practice, the “year that gives meaning to every other year.”
From the two great ... The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister

On 10/15 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
The subject of the adult beverage has often been quite contentious in Christian circles. In his ‘biography of the beer that changed the world’, Stephen Mansfield addresses the topic within the context of a world wherein beer has played a prominent role and has often been embraced - in moderation ... The Search for God and Guinness

On 8/9 Ian Cameron McLaren wrote:
“Church as I know it usually leaves deep parts of me dormant, unawakened, and untouched. I don’t much like going. So, what now?”
Larry Crabb, leading Christian counselor, author, Bible teacher, seminar speaker and founder and director of New Way Ministries has a problem – he ... real church by larry crabb